DARTS: Swindon thrower Aubrey keen to repay Wade's faith

RISING darts star Chris Aubrey is keen to put a difficult 2012 behind him as he bids to repay the faith shown in him by world number three James Wade.

The Swindon player teamed up with The Machine and his Modus Darts team at the start of the year, with the group sponsoring him to play on both the senior and youth tours after recognising his potential.

Aubrey did claim his first PDC Youth Tour title during 2012, but a disappointing Qualifying School in January saw him fail to earn a tour card, meaning he was unable to compete in many senior events.

He has now secured his card for the next two years by finishing fifth in the Youth Tour standings, and the youngster is hoping for a dramatic upturn on fortunes as he bid to prove his worth amongst the game’s senior pros when the new season gets underway.

“It was a bad year and I don’t think it went very well at all for me,” he said.

“The Youth Tour went okay for me I think and I did enough to earn a two-year tour card which was good, and I won my first tournament as well but to be honest I really should have done that by now.

“The main tour didn’t go very well at all really, but it is hard to put my finger on what went wrong because I put the hours in just like I did the year before, and I practiced hard and it just didn’t go for me.

“Not getting a tour card in January didn’t help because I was wondering what tournaments I was allowed to play in at times, and I wasn’t able to make the most of the ones that I did play in which was frustrating.

“I am more disappointed in myself really, and I think I put a lot of pressure on myself at times which maybe didn’t help.

“I was given a massive opportunity by Modus and it is sometimes hard to say ‘if I lose, then oh well’ because I am sort of playing for them now.

“But they obviously believe in me, and I just need to go out there and play my own game.

“I have another year with them which will hopefully be a more promising year, and we haven’t spoken anymore yet about anything that is going to change.

“So what I need to do now is make sure I push on and do justice to them as well as myself.”

This time next year will see Aubrey’s contract with Modus come to an end, and the Swindon player is keen to show he deserves an extended deal.

“They gave me the chance and they know what I can do, and it all gives me a massive confidence boost because James (Wade) says what he thinks, so for him to believe in me is massive.

“It is not a case of me proving myself because I know what I can do, so I just need to go up there and play the way I can.

“There is a big chance of extending our contract which would be great, but we will need to see how this year goes.

“I am not panicking, and I am just hoping I can bring out my A-game and enjoy myself.”